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Boedo Foundation Family Picnic is Aug. 29

SILVER CREEK -- For the fifth year in a row, Silver Creek and its neighboring communities will soon come together for a day of fun to support one of the area's most impactful charities.

The Michael Boedo Community Foundation's fifth annual Family Picnic fundraiser is set for Saturday, Aug. 29 from noon until 8 p.m. at 12401 Allegany Road in Silver Creek. The event is held just prior to International Overdose Awareness Day, Aug. 31.

The Family Picnic features a Community Barbecue and Cornhole Tournament, along with a motorcycle run, basket raffles, big ticket raffles, a 50/50 drawing, a petting zoo, bounce houses, and live music featuring Charity Nuse and Uncle Ben's Remedy.

The family-friendly event is free of charge, but donations are appreciated. Checks and money orders can be addressed to the Michael Boedo Community Foundation, 11872 Bennett State Road, Silver Creek.

The Michael Boedo Community Foundation was established in memory of Michael Boedo, who lost his life in June of 2017, at the age of 36, due to an accidental overdose.

"These incidents occur all too frequently in our communities, affecting our families, friends, coworkers, and everyday people. At the Foundation, we aim to assist our communities, reduce stigma, and combat this disease," said Brian Boedo, President and Founder of the Michael Boedo Community Foundation.

In the nine years since Michael's death, the Michael Boedo Community Foundation has supported the community he and his brother, Brian, called home in many ways.

The Michael Boedo Community Foundation began as a scholarship fund established to support a Silver Creek student who was planning to enter the medical field, just as Michael did when he graduated from Silver Creek High School in 1999. Prior to his death, Michael was a longtime healthcare worker at Lakeshore Hospital as a phlebotomist.

Brian Boedo established the Michael Boedo Scholarship in memory of his brother. But it was more than just a scholarship; Brian Boedo wanted to raise awareness for addiction and overdose risks. The Scholarship Fund grew each year, eventually reaching a point where the Michael Boedo Community Foundation was established.

The Michael Boedo Community Foundation now offers scholarships to students at Silver Creek, Forestville, Gowanda and Dunkirk school districts. Rather than focusing on only rewarding those who enter the medical field, the scholarships each year are now offered to candidates with a strong sense of community. Brian Boedo said that he wants to support students who will "take these seeds from Silver Creek and bring them to their own communities to grow strong communities there."

But it is not just a scholarship fund anymore. The Michael Boedo Community Foundation supports many threads in the fabric of the community. Brian Boedo said one of the Foundation's goals is to "build back a little bit of that community feel, where you can really lean back on your neighbor."

The Foundation proudly sponsors the Hanover Youth Recreation Program and Hanover Little League, as well as helping kickstart Silver Creek's Flag Football Program when it was founded. Donations were also made in recent years to the Anderson Lee Library and the Silver Creek Food Pantry, as well as several groups of first responders such as the Silver Creek Emergency Squad and the Silver Creek and Sunset Bay Fire Departments.

Additionally, with a donation of $10,000, the Michael Boedo Emergency Relief Fund was established, along with the JCC Foundation, to help students in the Jamestown Community College Nursing Program with food insecurity, transportation costs, and providing access to review materials. The Foundation also partnered with Together We Bloom to fund a scholarship for a counselor to address postpartum depression.

The Foundation hopes to offer scholarships to more students and schools, as well as supporting more adult students attending college. Brian Boedo said another focus will be on funding addiction counseling to ensure that individuals have access to help without financial burden. Eventually, the Foundation hopes to build a community center where such services can be offered.

"At the heart of it, we want to raise awareness and break down the stigma of people talking about overdose, addiction, and mental health," Brian Boedo said.

For more information, visit Michael Boedo Community Foundation Inc. on Facebook.